macos-view-architect

macOS View Architect

Refactor macOS SwiftUI toward explicit scene structure and focused files. Use macos-swiftui-architect for missing desktop patterns and macos-appkit-bridge for true AppKit boundaries.

Rules

• Model scenes explicitly: main window, settings, utility windows, inspectors, menu bar extras.
• Keep predictable order unless local style is stronger: environment, inputs, state, non-view computed vars, init, body, view helpers, actions.
• Split responsibilities:
  • App/<AppName>App.swift: @main app and minimal delegate only.
  • Views/*: root composition and feature UI.
  • Models/*: values, IDs, selection enums.
  • Stores/*: state stores.
  • Services/*: network, app-server, process clients.
  • Support/*: small formatters/resolvers/extensions.
• Accept one-file apps only for tiny throwaway snippets: ~50 lines, one screen, no persistence/network/process client/reusable models.
• Prefer dedicated subview types over many computed some View fragments; pass explicit data, bindings, and actions.
• Keep root layout stable around selection/scenes/commands; avoid top-level branch swaps.
• Extract non-trivial actions, command routing, and toolbar behavior from body.
• Use @SceneStorage for per-window ephemeral state and @AppStorage for durable preferences.
• Keep AppKit bridges isolated behind small wrappers/helpers.
• For modern @Observable owners, use @State; on older targets use @StateObject/@ObservedObject.

Workflow

1. Identify scene boundary and whether the file owns too many responsibilities.
2. Reorder top-to-bottom.
3. Extract sidebar rows, detail panels, inspectors, toolbar content, and utility surfaces into subviews/files.
4. Stabilize selection/layout.
5. Move action/command/toolbar logic into named helpers or types.
6. Narrow AppKit edges.
7. Build after each major split and keep behavior intact unless requested.

Smells

• One root view owns window scaffolding, settings, toolbar, commands, service clients, and detail layout.
• iOS push navigation forced into a Mac sidebar-detail problem.
• Several booleans for mutually exclusive inspectors/sheets/windows.
• AppKit objects passed through unrelated SwiftUI layers.
• Large computed view fragments replacing real subviews.